My So-Called Second Life

I promised you at some point, I would introduce you to the world I'm exploring called Second Life. Be warned, it is entirely addictive. Especially for the creative types. You can build anything you want. You can then script it to do whatever you want. That is, if you're willing to learn how. :)

But the real draw of Second Life is the social aspect. I landed, somehow, at a basic "welcoming center" for new "residents" (the term for people in Second Life) some time after requiring a welcome. As I started to meet people there, I realized that I really didn't need to go elsewhere. They are all such great people, as would make sense for volunteer welcomers, huh?

Well, here's my little ode to all the people I've met in my Second Life (SL). I'll only give you first names, and they're all SL names, not real ones.

This is Winry. She's entirely cool and my first friend in SL. She's a new college student and has excellent design and building skills. Oh, and don't mess with her when it comes to ping pong! The room she's in is part of an incredible home built for her by Bashiri.


Winry and Bashiri are great friends with each other, and I have also become very good friends with Bash. Bash builds very complex avatars (av's), and they often have active scripting to make them do things. I've been helping out with a few of his scripts, such as a werewolf avatar that is human unless it senses the moon nearby. Marvin, by the way, is me. Winry is behind me, and Bash is the white/blue robot on the orange ring.


One night, while at the Shelter (that welcoming club I mentioned, which is now defunct and being replaced), I saw Reina, a Purple Princess with whom I'd played some trivia before, dancing with a simulated teddy bear. That couldn't be, so I asked to dance. Marvin's eyes have turned purple in her presence ever since.


I loved the far off look on Sumar in this picture. This is the trivia center of Shelter, where I spent a lot of time and met most of my new friends. Sumar was security at the Shelter... and I'm sure will also be at the new Shelter, which is under construction. She is a really great person!


Reina was dressed up as Rainbow Brite and had a pair of roller skates on this night. Her skates gave her the ability to to wild flips, as demonstrated here. Also seen here are Marvin's purple eyes.


Here, we have a pair of purple princesses. Reina on the left and Mera on the right.


After the demise of the Shelter, the usual crowd gathered at the site of a temporary "Shelter in Exile" party. Eventually, this is the team that would build the new Shelter. Please remember to wear your scuba gear when using the Merry-Go-Round so close to water!


This is my building. Jaycatt and Frogg are big Hitchhiker's Guide fans and performers in Second Life. I built this building, which was then landscaped by my new online best friend, Rosa. Being a performer, Jaycatt was able to then stream a broadcast of the radio series within this building. It was a big hit.


Me (in human form -- with a Marvin tee shirt), Rosa, and Jaycatt resting after a long build. :) The building has a functional solar system, and almost anything you touch talks to you. Much of the design assistance came from Rosa and Jay.


The show was a complete sellout, eventually leaving standing room only for us. My eyes were purple for Reina, but I stood by the opening in the ring bench with Rosa throughout the show.



This is another view of the same venue during the show.


I made an entry about Jaycatt and Frogg putting on concerts. Here they are in the act. The avatars play the instruments, while MP3 quality guitar, keyboards, and vocals come through your speakers. Convincingly like being at a live concert (except there are robots and furries present).



This is Rosa and I in our "Tiny" avatars. She's a purple bunny and I'm a koala. One day, I'll get around to texturing a proper shirt for my tiny avatar!


On Halloween, Rosa took me to a haunted house. We hung around a bit, but mostly ran from scary monsters. Rosa's been in Second Life for a few years and has been a wonderful tourguide!


This is just a sample of all there is to do in this environment. And things change constantly. All of these buildings and events are made by residents. Very few things are "native" to Second Life, which opens up almost infinite possibilities.

So, if my blog's been lacking somewhat lately, you now understand where I've been. I promise the blog will not go abandoned. But my attention will have to be shared to some degree. :)